Someone Special
by Sarah Rettger
Summary: Angelina and Fred go to the Yule Ball. Told from Angelina's POV.


Disclaimer: Angelina and Fred belong to J. K. Rowling, along with the rest of her characters. No infringement is intended, and no profit will be made.  
  
A/N: Many thanks to my wonderful beta readers, Ebony and Jim. Their efforts are appreciated!  
  
  
  
Someone Special  
  
  
  
"You're going to the Yule Ball, aren't you?"  
  
"Only if I have a date," Alicia replied. "What's the point of going to a ball if there's no one to dance with, Angelina?"  
  
"No one to dance with? Do you think Fred and George will let you be a wallflower?" I was going to the ball whether I had a date or not. Anything was preferable to spending the Christmas holidays at home with my sister.  
  
Alicia sighed. "George doesn't dance. That's what he told me yesterday, complete with a demonstration. And I'm sure Fred will be -" She changed the topic. "I'm not much of a dancer either, so it really won't matter."  
  
"What about Lee?" I demanded. "He doesn't have a date yet. You two always have fun together."  
  
"In class," Alicia protested. "In the common room. He's someone I like to spend time with, but he's just a friend. He's not a person I could go to the ball with."  
  
"There's nothing wrong with going to the ball with a friend." I was not about to let Alicia spend Christmas night in Gryffindor tower alone. "In fact, if you don't ask Lee to the ball yourself, I'm going to do it for you."  
  
"We'll see," said Alicia. "What about you? Any plans for a date?"  
  
"I'm going to the ball," I said. "I wasn't planning on going with anyone. I thought it would be fun to just go in our usual group."  
  
"You really should go with Fred. Haven't I been telling you for years that the two of you would make a wonderful couple?"  
  
"I might have listened to you, too, except for all of the robe-ripper novels lying about our dormitory. Which book did you get that idea from? Satin and Wands?" Both Alicia and Katie dropped occasional hints about a potential relationship between me and Fred, but I ignored them. It was true that Fred was athletic, funny, charming, not a bit bad looking, and about the closest thing to a "perfect guy" I had ever met. But I had never thought of him as anything but a friend.  
  
"You're being dense again," said Alicia. "But that's quite all right. Didn't you just tell me I should ask Lee to the ball without seeing him as a boyfriend? If I can ask Lee as a friend, then you can do the same with Fred." Behind me, I could hear the portrait hole open. "Speak of the devil," Alicia murmured. "What perfect timing."  
  
"Alicia, it's hardly unusual to see Fred coming into the Gryffindor tower, considering he does live here." I had had quite enough of this line of conversation. I would be perfectly happy going to the ball without a date, and I didn't want to think any more about it. "I've heard enough about this ball by now," I said.   
  
"Fair enough," she replied. "Are your parents going to Dara's house for Christmas?"  
  
"No, Dara and Lucia are going to see Mum and Dad. I'd love to see Lucia again - she's always adorable - but the second I heard Dara was going to be there, I put my name down to stay at school."  
  
Alicia was an only child, and she had always been amused by my relationship with Dara. "Isn't this one of those things you'll grow out of someday?" she asked. "Won't you two eventually learn to appreciate each other?"  
  
"Maybe," I said, though I didn't believe it. I couldn't love, or even appreciate, a person I didn't respect, and Dara had never done a thing to deserve an ounce of respect from me. "But you and Katie are closer to being my sisters than she is."  
  
"Oi! Angelina!"  
  
I turned to look at Fred, who was sitting with Ron and Harry on the other side of the room. "What?"  
  
"Want to come to the ball with me?"  
  
I looked back at him for a moment, appraising him. Despite Alicia's confidence, I had never expected to hear those words from Fred's mouth. Did I want to go? I hadn't been planning to go with anyone.  
  
And then I realized that I did want to go with Fred.  
  
"All right then," I replied. I couldn't help hiding the grin on my face as I turned back to Alicia.  
  
**********  
  
  
  
"Angelina, can I borrow your Sleekeazy's? Katie looked in the mirror, smoothing her dress robes.  
  
"Sure, it's in my trunk." I applied a Pressing Charm to my own robes, which had been sitting in my trunk for too long. "Oh, I forgot. I loaned it to Hermione. Have you seen her tonight? She looks wonderful."  
  
"Is she going with Harry?" Alicia asked. "Those two would be so cute together."  
  
"She didn't say. It's got to be someone special, though. Sleekeazy's is such a nuisance. I'm not even using it tonight. A Straightening Charm is easier, and works almost as well." I couldn't help laughing at Alicia as her Curling Charm failed miserably. Locks of her hair shot away from her head in all directions.  
  
"That's because your hair is beautiful already," said Alicia. "Help!"  
  
Katie picked her wand up off her bed and fixed Alicia's hair. "There you go. Looks gorgeous."  
  
I slipped my robes over my head. They were made of red silk, and I loved them. I had worn them often enough that they were now very comfortable, but still fashionable. I wasn't worried about how I looked, though. Fred had seen me in my worst Quidditch robes without complaining.  
  
Alicia patted her hair. For all her protestations about Lee being nothing more than a friend, she was putting far more effort into her appearance than either Katie or I were.   
  
"Enough, dearie," the mirror commented. "You're adorable."  
  
"Thank you," said Alicia automatically. Then, "I'm talking to a mirror!"  
  
"Nothing wrong with that, luv," the mirror replied cheerfully.  
  
Katie checked her reflection a final time, and the mirror added its approval. "I'll see you at the ball," Katie said. She was meeting Derek in the Ravenclaw tower.  
  
"Have fun," I called after her. I gave Alicia another three minutes, then asked, "Are you ready? They'll be waiting for us."  
  
Alicia took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "All set. Let's go." She walked down the stairs ahead of me, moving so slowly that I wondered if we would reach the common room before January.  
  
"What's wrong?" I demanded. Alicia had never been a fountain of self-confidence, but I had never seen her so tense before.  
  
Alicia sighed. "I'm just nervous. I should have gone home for the holidays. I know I'm going to make a fool of myself at the ball."  
  
"You're not," I said firmly. "I won't let that happen."  
  
"I'm not as prepared and at ease as you are, Angelina. I've never been to a ball before. I don't know how to dance or - or anything like that. Lee's going to think I'm so -"  
  
"Alicia, relax. The mirror said you're beautiful, and the mirror never lies. And don't worry about the rest of it. There's more to balls than dancing. You're going to have a fabulous time and enjoy every minute of it. Now go on, Lee's waiting for you."  
  
"Thanks, Angelina." We exchanged a hug and continued down the stairs.   
  
In the common room, our dates were waiting. Fred played a mock fanfare, while Lee imitated the suave voice of a WWN announcer. "Coming down the Gryffindor stairs are the two girls every wizard in Hogwarts will be longing to dance with tonight. Alicia Spinnet is elegant, yet charmingly fresh in an exquisite gold ensemble." He offered Alicia his arm. "And with her is the equally lovely Angelina Johnson, a vision of grace and beauty in red. Without a doubt, every boy there will be lining up for the first waltz."  
  
"Not if I have anything to say about it," growled Fred. He bowed low, and I took his arm.  
  
"Excellent job, Lee," I commented. "You could write the society column for Witch Weekly." I affected a high-pitched drawl. "Mrs. Augustus Larue, wife of the well-known dueling champion, was the heroine of the annual Hogsmeade Charity Affair as she selflessly donated one million galleons to St. Mungo's Hospital last week. Observers admired her gown, a Gladrags original, and wondered who had charmed her hair into its elegant coiffure."  
  
Fred laughed. "Don't tell me you read that rubbish. I might just leave you here in the tower."  
  
"Don't worry," I replied. "My mother reads them out loud whenever one of her friends is mentioned. I hear that column nearly every week when I'm home." Fred gave me a strange look, but said nothing.  
  
I was glad that he didn't ask about my mother's friends. Even Alicia and Katie knew only the barest details of my life at home - the ones I was willing to share. No one at Hogwarts knew that my father was the Lloyd Johnson whose name appeared every year in the Daily Prophet's list of the ten richest wizards in Britain, and I certainly hoped no one knew that my mother considered Narcissa Malfoy her bosom friend. I knew Fred was aware that my feelings about the Malfoy family were no different from his own, but I wasn't going to invite discussion of that part of my life. I wanted the ball to go well, and my father's money was not going to interfere with this night.  
  
**********  
  
  
  
Fred groaned loudly as we entered the Great Hall. "It's Percy."  
  
Percy Weasley was standing near the table at the front of the room, and I couldn't say I was any happier to see him than Fred was. "Maybe if you close your eyes and wish really hard, he'll disappear."  
  
"Maybe he'll be too busy impressing all the teachers with how important he is now, and he won't have time to bother us," said Fred more practically.  
  
On Professor McGonnagall's order, the champions and their partners processed across the hall. Hermione, I noticed, wasn't with Harry, but rather with Viktor Krum. She seemed happier and more full of life than I had seen her at any time since she had entered Hogwarts. I couldn't help being surprised - half the girls in the school had been pestering him about the ball, and he had chosen Hermione. I hoped that he would move beyond his celebrity status, and give her the night she deserved.  
  
When the champions were seated, we filled in the rest of the tables around the Great Hall. Fred led me to a small table in the corner, where there was just room for the two of us. A small card on the table informed us that we could order our meals by saying the name clearly to our plates.  
  
"Escargot," said Fred decisively.  
  
"Snails?" I asked.  
  
"I've never tried it before," he explained, poking at the snails that had appeared on his plate. He picked one up, and I knew he was thinking about tossing it across the room toward Ron's table. I raised an eyebrow and he put the snail down. "What'll you have?"  
  
I glanced at the menu on the back of the card. "Chicken Marsala."  
  
"Intelligent choice," Fred commented, choking on a bite. "Food you can eat."  
  
"That is what one customarily does with food," I agreed.  
  
"Quite right," said Fred. "Which is why I'm going to steal a bite of yours. You don't mind, do you?"  
  
I shook my head. "Not at all."   
  
I looked around the hall. It was the first time I had seen most of my classmates in dress robes, and I was amazed at the difference it made. This was not like a normal meal in the Great Hall. Everyone was acting more like guests at my parents' parties than like the people I went to classes with every day.  
  
Fred must have noticed a change in my expression. "What's wrong?"  
  
"It's a little too much like home," I said. "Too many people dressed up and trying to act like they're someone else. It's too - I don't know, too perfect."  
  
"I could toss out a couple Dungbombs," said Fred, reaching into his pocket. "That would make things a little more interesting."  
  
"Put those things away!" Although I knew Fred would be in awful trouble, I couldn't help laughing as I picture a room full of well-dressed students and teachers running from the Dungbomb smoke. "Just forget I said anything, and have some more chicken."  
  
A few minutes later, the Weird Sisters approached their instruments. "Shall we dance?" Fred asked.   
  
"I'd love to." It had been easier than I had expected - I had thought that getting Fred to dance would be a suitable task for the Triwizard Tournament.  
  
He took my hand and led me onto the dance floor. "Ugh, a slow song."  
  
"You don't like it?" He was dancing well, and I knew I wasn't going to have to worry about my feet that night. I had never imagined Fred as a dancer, but he was filling the role well. I could relax in his arms as he guided me around the Great Hall.  
  
"It takes -" Fred spun me under his arm "- far too much concentration. You see, a friend of Mum's -" another spin "writes how-to books, teaching people about things they should know how to do. In July it was dancing, and Mum -" a dip this time "made me help her make sure she had everything right. She was upset over a flowerpot I'd exploded - can't imagine why - and wanted me out of the house for a few days. So -" another dip, this one so low that I was surprised he didn't drop me "- I've learned how to dance properly. This is the first time I've had an excuse to really try it, though."  
  
"You're doing all right." It was a considerable understatement. As we moved around the room, students and teachers were turning to look at us.  
  
"You, too. Where did you learn to dance?"  
  
"At my parents' parties. They give a lot of balls and things. I used to go all the time when I was little and watch the grown-ups dance."  
  
"Can't quite imagine my parents ever giving a ball. It must be fun."  
  
"I'd love to live in a house that's never hosted a ball," I said sharply. As I spoke, the music changed. The song had a faster beat, and Fred looked like he was ready to have a bit more fun.  
  
We didn't try to talk during the next song, and we probably wouldn't have been able to. I noticed more than a few people back away as we danced. I felt like I should wear a sign: "Get a good look, folks. It's Fred and Angelina - get used to it. You might be seeing a lot of us."  
  
  
After a while, Fred asked me if I wanted some punch. I nodded, and together we headed off the dance floor for a moment.  
  
"Amazing." Fred and I turned to see Lee, who was walking over. "Especially when you nearly knocked over that tiny third-year who's here with Finch-Fletchley. That was definitely the highlight of my evening."  
  
"It's nice to see you're easily amused," I replied. "Where's Alicia?"  
  
"Some git from Beauxbatons cut in on us," Lee said, a bit disappointed. "I'll have to go steal her back."  
  
"Dance this one with Angelina first," said Fred, looking at something across the room. "George and I have some business to take care of." Before I realized it, he had disappeared.  
  
Dancing with Lee was quite a bit calmer than dancing with Fred, but it wasn't as much fun. "Where did you two disappear to before?" Lee asked.  
  
"We sat over there." I nodded in the general direction of our table.  
  
"The smallest table, the one that's farthest away from everything? Yeah, I suppose Fred would do that."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
Lee looked at me with a smile. "It may not seem like it, Angelina, but we boys talk about girls just as much as you talk about us. And I know that takes up hours of your time."  
  
"You'd like to think so," I retorted. I wondered if I should ask just what they talked about, but thought better of it - there were probably some things that I was happier not knowing.  
  
His tone became more serious. "I probably shouldn't be saying anything - Fred would wring my neck. But - look, Angelina. I don't have any idea how you feel about Fred, and it's really none of my business. Just promise me you'll be nice to him, whatever happens. He's a decent guy, and he doesn't deserve to get hurt."  
  
"I never dreamed of hurting Fred! What do you think I'd do to him?"  
  
"Forget it. I shouldn't have said anything. Let's just dance."  
  
I didn't press the matter further, but I was curious. What could I possibly do to hurt Fred? I had thought that everyone in our group of friends subscribed to Alicia's theory that I was secretly crazy about Fred. Even I had come to realize in the last few days that my feelings went beyond friendship. It wasn't something I advertised, but I had thought that Lee would have given me more credit.  
  
"How's Alicia enjoying herself?" I asked, returning the conversation to a more neutral topic.   
  
"She's having a great time. She looked a little worried when we first got here - she was nervous, wasn't she?"  
  
I nodded. "It's her first time at a ball. I'm glad she's having fun, though. What about you?"  
  
"It's marvelous. But like I said, seeing that third-year almost get knocked over is definitely the best thing that's happened tonight."  
  
"Yeah, but the night's not over." Fred had returned. "I'm sure you could top that." He gave Lee a pointed look.  
  
"Blimey, I'm having girls taken from me everywhere I go!" Lee feigned annoyance, and left to find Alicia.  
  
The Weird Sisters began a new song. "Not this one!" groaned Fred. "I think it's absolutely awful, but Ginny loves it, and she turns the radio up every time it comes on. Feel like taking a walk instead?"  
  
"Sounds good." We went outside, where rosebushes lined the path. There were giggles and movement in some of the rosebushes, and I didn't want to think about what some of my friends were doing in there, and with whom. I shivered slightly. "It's cold out here."  
  
Fred slipped his arm around my shoulder. "Better?"  
  
"Lots." I wasn't just talking about the temperature.  
  
We walked further, and had to jump off the path to avoid being run over by a Hufflepuff fifth-year. "Wonder who he's chasing," said Fred.  
  
"Probably Victoria Fawcett, or one of her minions," I replied. "I doubt they need to be chased, though." They had to keep up appearances, I supposed.  
  
"I remember that time during our third year when you set her braids on fire. You really don't like her, do you?"  
  
It hadn't been unprovoked. Victoria and I had been forced to share a cauldron in Potions, and she had been so involved in a conversation - if you could call it that - with some Ravenclaw boy that she had poured our Shrinking Potion all over my feet. "No, I don't," I told Fred as we walked. Deciding I might as well explain, I asked, "Did I ever tell you about my sister?"  
  
"I didn't know you had a sister."  
  
"Her name is Dara. She left Hogwarts in her fifth year, the year before we started."  
  
"Was she expelled?"  
  
"She got pregnant, and decided that motherhood was more appealing than graduation. She was a lot like Victoria - I don't think she even knew who Lucia's father was. She hasn't changed much. She moves from man to man, and when she doesn't have anyone, she moves back in at home."  
  
"Your parents let her? If I did anything like that, Mum would toss me out of the house so fast I'd -"  
  
"They've given up on the idea of Dara ever doing anything with her life, and Lucia is their only grandchild, so they adore her. They'd never throw Dara out. Besides, they think she sets a good example for me of what not to do."  
  
"Bit difficult for you?"  
  
"I knew more about what goes on in those rosebushes before I came to Hogwarts than most of our class does now. My mother spent every day of the summer before my first year telling me that I'd better not turn out like Dara if I knew what was good for me. She couldn't bear to face her friends if she had to admit that both of her daughters had gone bad," I concluded bitterly. I hadn't forgotten the Narcissa's last visit over the summer. Her thinly veiled hints about me and some Ravenclaw seventh-year had earned me a week's worth of yelling, lectures, and threats.  
  
Fred pulled out his wand to clear the snow from a large rock, and we sat down. He took my hand again. "I wouldn't worry too much," he said. "You don't seem like the type to end up in a rosebush. Besides -" he broke off.  
  
I didn't press him to continue. If he fancied me, as Lee had implied, I didn't want to ruin the moment by moving too fast. It was so sweet to just sit with him, side by side, our silences saying more than words ever could. I knew, somehow, that everything would work out. It just felt right.  
  
We sat on the rock without talking. The sounds of the Weird Sisters were just audible until they were replaced by the sound of explosions. We both jumped to our feet in time to see Professor Snape blowing up rosebushes along the path.  
  
"Must be our cue to go in," said Fred. "I wouldn't want Snape to see me when he's in a mood like that. Shall we see if the music's any better?"  
  
There were fewer people dancing now than before. Some, like Lee and Alicia, were sitting with friends at tables around the edges of the room. Others had probably returned to their towers, as it was getting late.  
  
We went to join Lee and Alicia, who were sitting with George, Katie, and Derek. I knew Derek only slightly from the double Potions we had with the Ravenclaws every year.  
  
They all looked happy, and I was glad they were enjoying themselves as much as I was. Alicia, in particular, seemed far more content than she had in the tower that evening.  
  
"Did you two have a nice time outside?" George asked. It was not an innocent question.  
  
"Ignore him, Angelina," said Fred. "He's just put out because even the skrewts turned him down. Be a gentleman, George, Angelina needs a seat."  
  
George stood up, his face showing surprise. "You two missed the last dance," he said. "Just ending now."  
  
As George finished speaking, Professor Dumbledore stood up. "I hope you all enjoyed our Yule Ball," he said. "It is now time to return to your towers. I wish you all good night, and Merry Christmas."  
  
Slowly, we exited the Great Hall. George and I walked through the halls like one of his escargot, taking a full twenty minutes to reach Gryffindor tower. We didn't talk, but meandered through the corridors, holding hands and enjoying the silence. We stopped next to the portrait of the Fat Lady.  
  
"Angelina -" began Fred.  
  
I didn't wait to hear what he had to say. A quick glance around the corridor assured me that we were alone - there was no way I was going to let my mother interfere with this. I kissed Fred, and he returned the kiss - it was much easier than talking.  
  
Maybe I should pick up that sign, I thought: "Fred and Angelina - You'll be seeing a lot of us."  
  



End file.
